Pulp Fiction

1994’s Pulp Fiction, directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Christopher Walken, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, and Eric Stoltz.

Winner of an Academy Award for Original Screenplay (for Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary).

Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Travolta), Best Supporting Actor (Jackson), Best Supporting Actress (Thurman), Best Director (Tarantino), and Film Editing (Sally Menke).

So much has been said about the merits and strengths of Tarantino’s breakout hit, that one wonders if there is any more to say? Doubtful, but it doesn’t mean I can’t put on my dancing shoes and give this timeless song a go:

Fresh off the success of his 1992’s “Reservoir Dogs”, Tarantino had a bit of momentum and a LOT of moxie when creating and casting “PF”. It’s script was passed over by every studio except for Disney’s Miramax Films, lead by a lesser known producer named Harvey Weinstein (who as producer/executive producer currently has won 6 Best Picture Oscars and countless nominations). Casting the film initially proved to be a challenge, for multiple reasons. Uma Thurman (then in her early 20’s) had issues with her character’s drug usage, the gimp character, and the rape scene of her character’s husband. Thurman has said that she feels foolish for hesitating at the time, but it does make sense when you think of where her career could have gone if “PF” had misfired. Weinstein was also dead set against Travolta being cast anywhere in the film (much less as the hitman, Vincent Vega), wanting to push for more studio friendly product such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn, William Hurt, and Bruce Willis. Tarantino held firm, and Travolta’s stock (which was at a career low at that point) soared after “PF”’s success. Willis’ movie star stature and consistent interest in the film, initially proved problematic, as the Butch Coolidge palooka role had been promised to Matt Dillon already. Tarantino went over the script with Dillon, who told Tarantino that he would “think about it” overnight. Tarantino was so enraged that Dillon wouldn’t immediately accept the role after reading the script, that he let his agent know Dillon was out, and announced, “Get me Joe Hallenbeck!” (Willis’ character in 1991’s “The Last Boy Scout”). Finally, Samuel L. Jackson was initially told that the “Jules Winnfield” hitman character was his, however, he later found out that his role would likely go to Paul Calderon (who ended up with a bartender role in the film). Jackson flew to L.A. for a last minute audition, but found no one there- except a studio hack who referred to him as, “Mr. Lawrence Fishburne”. His audition was eventually had, and Jackson’s handling of his fast food lunch and multiple epithets of motherfucker lead to the decision to cast him as the iconic hitman who teams up with Travolta’s character to have conversations about cheeseburgers in France and foot massages, in between blowing people away.

With festival buzz (from a surprise Cannes Best Picture award) and studio darling Willis attached, “PF” hit with audiences like an adrenaline shot to the heart. “PF”s influence was both groundbreaking for independent film (catapulting little known Miramax into the major studio conversation) and for the gangster genre picture, inspiring a slew of copycats and hip studio gruel that never could fully replicate “PF”’s formula, no matter how many swear words, observational dialogue overtop of over the top violence, or quirky soundtracks were shoehorned in. But what is “PF”?

Set in a Los Angeles that is likely the 90’s, but could pass for decades previous, “PF” is centred around the lives of a variety of low lifes, and how their lives connect. A pair of hitmen on the way to a hit trying not to lose their heads. A recreational drug user taking out the boss’s wife. A couple trying a coffee shop hold-up on a lark that leads to complications. A boxer throwing a fight who needs a childhood memento before he can leave town. All of these stories mix, in one way or another.

Writers Tarantino and Avery scramble the narrative, meaning that the opening to the film is more like somewhere in the middle, with the ending scene finishing the opening scene (but again being somewhere in the middle). The end effect has quite the payoff, as the disorientation makes the film more abrupt and worth paying attention to.

Frankly, the plot of “PF” isn’t that important. Like the special suitcase in the film that serves as a Hitchcockian "Macguffin", it’s really just an excuse to get the conversations going and the black humour flowing. Tarantino, who never attended film school and instead exhaustively watched exploitation films of yesteryear as a video store clerk, is an autodidact whose greatest strength is his ability to bring out the performances of actors through his dialogue. A quick glance at the casts of his respective movies reveals breakout performers (Steve Buscemi), marginally known actors who do their best work with Tarantino (Jackson and Christoph Waltz), and left for dead performers resurrected (Pam Grier, John Travolta, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Don Johnson). Most people who end up in a Tarantino film end up in no worse a place from where they started, and most of their careers turn out for the better. 

With all due respect to his bit roles in “Goodfellas”, “Johnny Suede”, and “Jurassic Park”, Samual L. Jackson became a household name here for his Jules Winnfield role. Jackson plays a hitman not unlike a shark, eating up everything in it’s path with his words and actions, but also a philosopher king, as he interprets a miracle of sorts as a divine intervention with a message. As mentioned above, Travolta, as Vincent Vega, was left for dead at the time of “PF”’s casting, and here he is revelatory, as a hitman who has some moves and knows how he likes his steak, his hard drugs, and his principles, but is not as smart as he thinks he is. Thurman plays a mobster moll, who is anything but dumb to her husband’s line of work but likes to hide behind the scenes. She resembles a praying mantis at times, out for kicks and power, before the urge to score reveals just how vulnerable she is. Overall, there are no weak links (save for Tarantino's cameo), in a great movie littered with great performances.

Tarantino skeptics/haters will always accuse Tarantino of being a nihilist rip off artist, and they aren’t that far from the truth. Tarantino’s body of work proves that he’s not that interested in the bigger picture (or even creating a standard plot driven movie), but instead in creating collages that pay homage to the cinematic delight of youth oriented, provocative B pictures that he so slavishly honours, but with a personal twist that nobody else can match. In short, he loves trash, but he elevates it to a standard no one working today can match. A perfect example is the Ezekiel 25:17 passage from the film, spoken so ferociously but elegantly by Jackson in the film, who claims it’s from the bible. Only problem? It’s not in the bible. Instead, it’s taken literally from a Sonny Chiba 1979 kung fu film, “The Bodyguard”- THAT’s Tarantino’s bible.

After reflecting on “The Hateful 8”, I was blown away at how Tarantino missed the opportunity to make the movie as suspenseful as it could have been, in that he again scrambled the timeline, which detracted suspense that otherwise could have been generated in a standard A-B-C format. He has none of those problems in “PF”, with several scenes of intense tension and against the clock moments. Indeed, Tarantino can make 2 people having a conversation over food more riveting than any potboiler action scene or serial killer thriller. And just in case the film's not zipping, his manic surf rock soundtrack take the scenes to the next level of cool. Above all, “PF” is fun. Not idiotic fun- but unadulterated, pop culture informed, post modern fun.

“PF”’s place in history is secure, with it carrying a 94/100 score on Metacritic, and it’s the most influential movie of the 90’s (the best? 1990’s “Goodfellas”). It’s the reason we know who Tarantino is, and why he has the clout and fame he carries today. With all of the ingredients added together, it’s difficult to say exactly why “PF” works so well. Like Travolta’s character when he dances, it just has all the right moves.

5/5

Trailer: Click Here.